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The Conduit
The Conduit is a first-person shooter developed by High Voltage Software and published by Sega. It is the first installment in the series of the same name. It was released for the Wii exclusively in 2009. Setting The game is set in the year 2012 in Washington D.C. A mysterious series of events occur from March to October. On March 19, a strange weather system approaches the city, and the water levels of rivers rise. A new flu-like illness known as "The Bug" appears on April 19 and causes an epidemic. This causes many government workers to stay at home to avoid being infected. On July 27, "The Bug" is believed to be in the city's water supply; residents were advised to drink only bottled water. A terrorist attack on the Washington Monument occurs on August 19. On September 11, Presidential Candidate Senator Harriet Reimer was assassinated by terrorists posing as her own Secret Service detail. On October 1, a Secret Service member, Michael Ford, saves President Charles Thompson from the members of Thompson's own Secret Service detail, being the only one not to turn against him. He is recruited to the organization known as "The Trust." Plot The Conduit starts as a flashback. Michael Ford reveals some of the events leading up to the game. Ford wakes up in a subway tunnel. He proceeds through the tunnel until he reaches a Conduit of massive size. After an ally of his calibrates his suit, he enters the portal. The game then jumps back five days. Ford is recruited by the Trust, whose leader, John Adams, sends him to Reagan National Airport to stop a terrorist named Prometheus. After discovering that Prometheus has found a way to turn humans into his puppets, Ford follows Prometheus onto a subway train. One of the puppets detonates a bomb. Ford survives the explosion and finds the All-Seeing Eye, abbreviated to ASE. Ford's next assignment is to infiltrate Prometheus' base, an abandoned bunker under the city. Adams sends Ford in solo, because he does not know who to trust; Ford's visor also provides video link to the President. Ford enters Bunker 13 and discovers that Prometheus has been developing prototype weapons. Soon after, Ford discovers that a neuro-toxin turns the humans into Prometheus' puppets. Ford also discovers an alien race known as the Drudge, and encounters portals known as Conduits from which they spawn. Ford destroys the Conduits and the neuro-toxin, stops the puppets from releasing it into the water supply and makes his escape to the Jefferson Memorial. However, Ford is soon double-crossed as Adams leaves him to die. Ford is contacted by Prometheus, who reveals that Adams has been using him. Ford fights his way through the Drudge before being picked up by Prometheus' helicopter. Ford is sent to the Library of Congress to destroy a Drudge nest that Prometheus has pinpointed underneath. Ford successfully destroys the nest. Prometheus than reveals that the President is under attack. Ford makes his way to the White House courtyard; the President is trapped aboard Marine One, which is ensnared with Drudge tentacles. Ford destroys the tentacles, saving the President. However, the President believes that Ford was a Trust agent, and therefore gives Adams control of unlimited resources. The Drudge next attack the Pentagon to obtain the defense codes for the entire nation. Ford manages to obtain the codes by hacking with the ASE just before the Drudge. Ford encounters the first Invader, a huge, bug-like elite of the Drudge army. After killing the Invader, Ford makes his way through downtown D.C. to find the source of the Drudge; Prometheus discovers that the Library's nest was not the primary source. Ford encounters an Invader blocking a bridge, as well as two more on his way to the Metro station. Ford travels through the tunnels and discovers the largest Conduit. Prometheus calibrates Ford's suit, and Ford enters the Conduit. Ford enters the Trust base, but jamming devices keep Prometheus from communicating with him. Ford destroys the devices, hacks into the elevator, and travels deeper into the base. Prometheus pinpoints the jamming signal to Lab III. Ford disables the signal, but causes a malfunction. Labs I, II, and III are locked down, but a back-up program opens the doors. Ford enters the Containment Center, where he finds out that Prometheus was the genetic blueprint of the Drudge. Prometheus tells Ford to destroy his body to prevent more Drudge from being created. Ford reluctantly does so, and escapes through the elevator. Adams tells Ford that he has activated the self-destruct mechanism. Prometheus, who uploaded his consciousness onto the ASE while Ford was hacking, tells Ford that power must be rerouted to open the Conduits. Ford hacks into the power systems and enters the Conduit. During the credits, John Adams converses with an unknown alien. The unknown alien says "Prometheus has given fire to the humans". He also says "the others" are mobilizing. Adams responds by saying that he has planned the campaign for 240 years, and he will not let it fail. Multiplayer The multiplayer can only be played online. Up to 12 players can be in a single match. The Wii Speak peripheral can be used to converse with other players. Multiplayer Matches Free-For-All Every player for themselves. * Quick Match ** First player to reach the kill limit wins. * Marathon ** Player with the most kills at the end of the match wins. * Three Strikes ** Every player has only three lives. * Last Man Standing ** Players have eight lives each; the player who survives wins. * ASE Football ** The player who holds the ASE the longest wins. * Bounty Hunter ** The players are each assigned a target and attempt to earn points by killing their target. Team Reaper Players are split into teams. * Quick Match ** First team to reach the kill limit wins. * Marathon ** Team with the most kills at the end wins. * Shared Stock ** Each team has a shared pool of lives. The team that survives wins. Team Objective Players are split into teams. Players must capture the opposing team's ASE. * Quick Match ** First team to reach the capture limit wins. * Marathon ** Team with the most captures at the end wins. * Killing Override ** First team to reach the capture or kill limit wins. * Single ASE ** There is only one ASE. First team to reach the capture limit wins. Reception The Conduit was received with mixed to positive reviews from many critics. Nintendo Power praised the game as proof that first-person shooters work well with the Wii and further complimented the customization allowed by the control system, calling the experience "seamless." Points of criticism were that the story was simple and predictable, environments lacked the destructible elements of many other contemporary games and that the "All-Seeing Eye" device featured in the game was underused. The online multiplayer mode was favorably compared to that of the Halo franchise and was noted as "impressively smooth." The reviewer concluded by stating "Voltage Software can at least lay claim to the best pure first-person shooter on Wii." Official Nintendo Magazine criticized some campaign levels as repetitive and "a chore," and asserted that "the Drudge aliens are aptly named." The multiplayer mode was called a welcome addition to the Wii's online shooter lineup, however, the reviewer noted that the plot was "a lot of fun" due in part to cutscenes that helped tie events in the game together. Overall, the reviewer believed that the game lacked inspiration, but was still an enjoyable shooter video game. Category:Games released in 2009 Category:Games that are rated T Category:Games released on the Wii